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Just in Case You Hadn’t Heard, These “Cases” Aren’t Cutting It: Why Many Companies are Dropping Apple for Android

May 30, 2017

by Mark Holleran

Smartphone and tablet cases abound. We buy sleek,
beautifully executed smartphones for our personal use, then cover them up with
a “protective” case. Some cases offer moderate protection, although most of
them have only minimal value and are selected to differentiate your phone. We
tell ourselves that we’ve protected this $700 purchase from our clumsy selves,
but what we’ve mostly “protected” was the profit margin of the retailer.

So, go ahead, encase your mobile device in an off-the-shelf
“shell”. Just don’t make the mistake of feeling free of the consequences. Even
the most “rugged” tablet and handheld cases leave your valuable device
vulnerable to internal damage from drops, bumps, vibrations and extreme
temperatures, among other hazards. That’s why consumer devices, including all
Apple products and most Android products, are non-starters for use in field service
environments. And that’s not even considering the OS limitations for mobile
management, where Android and Windows offer a much richer set of capabilities
than Apple. At least not in real world scenarios like
this,
this
or this.

But I’m not here to bash Apple. Nor am I here to say that
all Android devices are better than Apple options. In fact, the reality is that
only
certain Android devices – namely
rugged tablets such as this
one –
will ever be viable options for on-the-job use. (Sorry but not even your
IP67 smartphone makes the cut…for many reasons.) I’m just trying to emphasize,
using the words of actual customers, that field service environments require rugged
tablets – and for more reasons than just their ruggedness.

Let’s start with
performance:

As one field-based business manager recently disclosed to
Xplore:
“iPads present significant
limitations when it comes to memory and workflow app compatibility. There is a
great deal of in-house “engineering” required to connect to scanners and other
required peripherals (think testing equipment) considering iPads don’t have
ports.”

Android rugged tablets, on the other hand, are undoubtedly
engineered to close these consumer-grade device gaps. Need an HDMI-in port? No
problem. Want expandable memory? That’s easy to find as a standard feature.

Android 1. Apple 0.

Don’t even get us started on the reliability of
consumer-grade tablets…

“I know there are fire departments, around the country that are using iPads in their vehicles. And we certainly considered doing that, until we found out that iPads had the thermal shutdown. That was probably one of my biggest disappointments, and basically made it a no go. We cannot put iPads in our apparatus, because we wouldn't be able to depend upon them.” ~ IT manager at a U.S. fire department

When evaluated on its dependability against the critical nature
of their work environment, customers say
Android wins every time.

Android 2. Apple 0.

Or device management
requirements:

Need an
MDM/EMM platform? Remote hardware or software capabilities? Android (and Window) rugged
tablets are rich with options along these lines. The beauty of choosing a
device built with your business-specific needs in mind.

Android 3. Apple 0.

Then there’s the
ruggedness:

“Are you going to be “that guy” that spends $400 now on an iPad that requires a $125 service call every time it gets dropped on concrete? I’m not…”

Yes, we all know that even the most cautious mobile devices
users are going drop them, likely many times in the device’s lifetime. But
here’s the catch: drop a consumer-grade device and that lifetime significantly
shrinks. While the “rugged” case may minimize visible external damage, internal
components will still get jolted. That means you’ll be repairing or replacing
those “lower cost” devices far more frequently than expected. They just don’t
fare well in seemingly hostile field environments, or in the heavy hands of
manufacturing, utility, energy and construction workers.

Still not convinced
that a rugged case should be ruled out?

One customer told us a few months back that their tech
planner “brought us the Samsung, he brought us an Apple, he brought us some
cases that were protective – somewhat. He brought us, I think it was a Motorola
tablet, also, one of their more durable versions. And then we just took them
all and brought them into the office. The teams would look at them and quickly
say, "Nope, this isn't working.”

A second customer shared a similar experience: “Management
groups started looking at Apple and we started looking at the Samsung tablets,
you can buy the casing and you can buy all the protection, but they just didn't
have the... I'm trying to think of the right word but it was just they weren't
tough enough for our staff.”

This realization, though often met with great resistance at
first, is widely shared once companies start to really consider their “criteria
for success” for their mobility investments. Inherently rugged tablets – those
specifically engineered and evolved over decades to align with users’ rough –
but real – handling in more hands-on work environments will always outperform
off-the-shelf devices in reliability. Hands down.

Android 5. Apple 0.

Plus, a “case” won’t keep your mobile workers safe in
Hazardous Locations, and Apple devices aren’t C1D2/ATEX certified
. That means
such devices are never appropriate for manufacturing, utility and even common
residential and commercial service environments where natural gas, dust or other
explosive elements could be present.

Android 6. Apple 0.

Of course, I’d be
remiss to overlook the reality of today’s mobile device TCO:

In a 2017 FTO Field Mobility
report,
respondents indicated that technology costs are a critical influencer on their
device decision, noting that:
“While
replacement costs for consumer hardware tend to be lower, the long-term total cost
of ownership (TCO) can in many cases be higher than rugged hardware because of
the added cost of employee downtime.”

And it is ultimately the reliability that wins out, even
more than the cost to replace broken tablets. Keeping your workers working, with
no complaints about their tools is the big win here. Perhaps that’s the biggest
reason why Android is gaining traction on the competition:

“Our field technicians were using an iPad to access workflows and a laptop to measure and test speeds. The cost was not just an iPad, which is like $700, when you want the one that we wanted but the cost of the laptop as well, because it's two pieces of equipment. So, it's really easy to justify, especially when the laptops goes bad and you have to replace them. Now that I have rugged tablets as the primary device, though, I no longer have to replace devices because they’re going bad. In fact, the one rugged tablet is much less expensive than what I was paying for an iPad and a laptop together because of the reliability issue.”

Enough said.

Android 7. Apple 0.

Now, we haven’t even talked about the bonus advantages that
Android rugged tablets provide over Apple iPads:

Longer battery lives

Greater flexibility and security built into the
OS

The option for enhanced security tools, such as
biometrics, encryption, SmartCard/CAC readers, etc.

In summary, anyone that’s still hoping that they
can find a “fix” for Apple’s field service use challenges will end up spending
far more than the effort’s worth. Don’t risk your ROI, or losing customers due
to the downtime that will ensue when non-rugged devices start to lose their
luster. Look for Android-based tablets that are designed
for your environment and are proven to be dependable. In other
words, take the easy way to deploy and maintain your field workforce.

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